"Yes, they need to have nuclear weapons too, because only with
the possession of such would their enemies be deterred from
attacking them."

Mahathir, 81, who retired as prime minister in 2003, remains
highly respected and influential throughout the Muslim world.

He is currently on a lecture tour of Central and South Asia, and
was addressing a conference on religious tolerance in Pakistan's
capital, Islamabad.

During his 22 years in office, he was known for his often
caustic tirades against the West and its policies in the Middle
East.

When asked whether Muslim nations in the Middle East should
acquire nuclear weapons, Mahathir replied, "Well, if you allow
Israel to have them, why should the others not have them too?"

Israel - which has neither confirmed nor denied reports that it
possesses nuclear arms - is generally believed to have the world's
sixth-largest stockpile of such weapons, including hundreds of
warheads.

Mahathir, a frequent critic of the Jewish state and its nuclear
arsenal, stressed that he believed in a world free of nuclear
weapons.

"My own opinion is that we should get rid of them," he said.

"All nations should (give up) nuclear weapons, in particular the
very belligerent United States."

He said that the US-led war against terrorism has turned into a
war against Islam and Muslims, because only countries such as
Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Syria are being targeted.

"The 'Axis of Evil' was supposed to include Iraq, Iran and North
Korea," he said, referring to a comment US President George W Bush
made in 2002 labelling the three countries as the "axis of
evil."

"But no one really believes that North Korea is targeted. Even
provocations by North Korea have not resulted in military strikes
and invasion," Mahathir said.

1158334716246-theage.com.auhttp://theage.com.au/news/WORLD/Muslim-nations-must-have-nukes-Mahathir/2006/09/16/1158334716246.htmltheage.com.auAAP2006-09-16Muslim nations must have nukes: MahathirBreakingNewsWORLDPremium-BreakingWorld